The Twelve Months of Fairy Tail
by leoslady4ever
Summary: It's that time of year, where guilds compete to raise money for their favorite charities, but Lucy gets a little more than she bargained for when she offers to play photographer for her favorite barmaid.
1. Chapter 1

_Well I was planning on having this done around Christmas as a not-so-Christmasy story but it just didn't work out that way. I suppose it's better late than never! Lol_

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><p><strong><strong>_Once again, I don't own Fairy Tail. **Hiro Mashima** does._

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><p><span><strong>THE TWELVE MONTHS OF FAIRY TAIL<strong>

**Chapter 1**

_This could not be happening..._

It was completely unbelievable, but Lucy knew it was real. She should - she'd already pinched herself three times to make sure her mind wasn't playing tricks on her, but no...she was well and truly awake...and appalled. How could Mira suggest such a thing? How could she possibly expect Lucy to photograph a select group of Fairy Tail men for a calendar...in their underwear?!

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. It was just supposed to be pictures of guild members, just a calendar to raise money for the local children's home, not some photo shoot for...for Playgirl! Lucy wasn't _that_ kind of photographer. Sure, she'd worked as a photographer for a while before she'd made her way to Fairy Tail, but she'd never worked this kind of job!

She was incensed that Mira would drop this on her in such a way, letting her volunteer without giving her all the information. But of course, there was no backing out now. The guild's barmaid might look sweet as candy, but the truth was she was the one person you didn't want to piss off. The woman could go from smiles to demon in two seconds flat. So now, Lucy was stuck, and she was dreading it with every ounce of her being.

Still, she didn't have much choice. She wasn't getting out of this, so she may as well get over it. It was moving forward whether she liked it or not, and she had a choice. She could either let her embarrassment over the situation force her into doing a bad job or she could put on her big girl pants and knock it out of the park.

So she came up with a plan, a way to make it a bit easier on her slightly virgin sensibilities. She'd do two rounds of pics with the guys. Having exactly 6 to work with, she would take two separate pictures of each - the first with them only shirtless and using their magic, and the second, dropping down to the bare necessities. It was a flawless plan, well as close to flawless as she could get without pissing Mira off.

Nodding to herself, she squared her shoulders and all but slammed through the doors to the guild. All eyes turned at her entrance, and bracing herself for the poking and teasing, she marched her way across the room toward the Demon herself. Sure enough, the guild erupted in catcalls and whistles, but the blonde turned a deaf ear, choosing to ignore their good-natured ribbing.

She pulled along side the bar, lifting her gaze to a smiling Mira, and nodded. She was ready. No matter how badly she wanted to take off running, she would stay and brave her way through all six men. She would remain professional, keep her mind on her work, and completely avoid looking at their bodies too closely.

Of course, she found out very quickly, that was easier said than done.

Thirty minutes later, she was ready to pull her hair out. Oh, why had she thought she could do this? She'd only just started, and she'd already caught herself gaping at one of the guys. Her own team mate for Mavis' sake! Her partner!

It wasn't like she'd never seen him scantily clad before. Though he was far better than Gray at keeping his pants on, it wasn't exactly unusual for Natsu to go around shirtless or covered only by an open vest. But there was something about being the one behind the camera that changed everything, and it was making her think things she definitely should not be thinking!

Shaking away the wild thoughts, Lucy forced herself to turn back to Natsu. "Okay, Natsu...let's get this done."

She walked purposefully over to him, poignantly ignoring the way his pants hung so haphazardly on his hips. Thankfully, she didn't have to prolong this shoot by trying to figure out the best way to showcase his magic and his abs. She'd worked with him enough to know just what to do.

So, she reached out, placing his body where she wanted it, all while giving him instructions. "Okay, I want you like this, facing the camera. Right, now slightly hunch your shoulders." She nodded when he complied without fight, then touched his arm. "Okay, arms up. I want a fist here, just in front of your chest...elbow up. Good, now raise the other arm the same way and put the fist in this hand."

Looking over his stance, she frowned. Something was still off. "Natsu, spread your legs a bit more...right, and bend the knees a bit...okay great."

"No problem Luce!"

His cheerful shout brought a smile to her face, but as she moved behind the camera, the smile flickered. How had she never noticed how hot he was? She nearly snorted at the thought, because honestly, Natsu reminded her on a regular basis how hot he was by burning the tar out of her belongings. Pushing off the errant thought, she looked back up at him and grinned. "Okay Natsu, now give me a fighting face."

Natsu stared at her dumbfounded, his brow raised in question. "Huh?"

Lucy rolled her eyes, then smirked. "Pretend Cobra just walked in and called you a pansy ass matchstick."

All of a sudden, a change came over his face, his head tipping down, his eyes narrowing dangerously. And that wasn't all. His magic had activated just as she'd hoped it would, dancing along his hands and forearms and casting flickering shadows across the lower portion of his face and the top of his bare chest. It was...sexy as hell.

The blonde could scarcely find her tongue to tell him to tone the flame down, but somehow, the words tumbled from her mouth, and Natsu's flames subdued to a manageable level. Instantly, Lucy began clicking the button. She didn't want to miss the shot, because this was going to be one hell of a photo.

Another half a minute o so, she stepped back from the camera and nodded. She'd gotten it. She didn't even have to go back and look. She'd nailed it. "Okay Natsu, that's it."

"Wait," he said, stopping her with a hand on her arm. "What about the other one?"

"Oh..." Lucy's face flushed at his mention of the second photo, but she agreed. "Right. Okay, yeah you're right."

He gave her an odd look, his head angling a bit as if to get a better look. "You okay, Luce? You seem tense."

Tense? She was downright frazzled! But she pushed a bright smile on her face and ushered him to the other side of the room, the one set up with props for the more...involved pictures. "I'm fine. I've just got a lot to do."

Her partner eyed her once more, his expression telling her plainly that he knew she was lying, but he turned and faced the other direction before coming to a standstill. "What the hell is all this junk?"

Lucy laughed at his question and felt her nerves work themselves loose and fade. Natsu was a pro at that, taking stressful situations and reducing them to something silly. "Those are props. I might need some of them for these other pictures."

"Oh," he hummed, then spun around, his hand on the top of his pants. "So which one do I need?"

The Celestial mage swallowed hard as he toyed with the waistband, and she wondered briefly if he was nervous before remembering that he'd asked something. " Oh..um..." She paused, realizing she hadn't actually chosen anything for this pose. "I'm not sure."

She turned back around to see Natsu hunched over, dragging his pants down his legs and over his feet. "Socks too?" he asked, looking up from his bent position.

He was talking. She knew he was, but she couldn't seem to recall how to make her mouth work. She could only stare at the sight of him cut down to just a pair of tempting deep red boxer briefs. They were...form fitting. It was the most chaste way she could say it, but in her mind, she was freaking out. "O-Oh...yeah. No socks for this one..."

She fought to look away, fought to erase the naughty things from her mind, and only managed to succeed when she realized that Natsu had gone pink, his cheeks flaring just the lightest bit at her obvious attention. She was mortified. She couldn't believe she had gaped at him in such a way, but...now she couldn't help but notice how he looked as he awkwardly rubbed at the back of his head. Somehow, it was both cute and sexy at the same time.

And that's when inspiration struck, sending excitement billowing in her mind. All at once, she could think again, and she clapped her hands. "Oh! I have the perfect pose for you! I can't believe I didn't think of it before!"

She raced toward a far corner and waved him over. "Here Natsu, come stand in front of this dresser. Now lean back on it a bit, and feet just a little wider. Good, now just hunch your midsection just a bit. Great! And...lift your hand up like you're going to rub the back of your head."

"Like this?" he hummed, tipping his head to one side and putting his hand behind it.

"That's perfect!" Lucy cheered, smiling at her accomplishment as she ran to get her camera. She moved into place just in front of him and quieted. She knew just what to do to get the face she wanted from him. She flashed him an appreciative smile, then slipped behind the lens as she said, "You look so cute."

At her impromptu compliment, Natsu turned his head to the side, his face going sheepish, and that hand that was forever brushing at the back of his head went to work. It was perfect, and Lucy snapped shot after shot before her partner caught wind of what she'd done.

He grinned at her. "That was sneaky, Luce."

"Yeah," she laughed, holding up the camera victoriously. "But I got the shot!"


	2. Chapter 2

_Next chapter here! Hope you're all enjoying this fanfic. I know I'm having a blast writing it! I want planning on posting it yet but I was told by my cohorts on the Crack Fiction Liberation Army, specifically GemNika, that I should update already. So... Looks like you get another chapter lol_

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><p><strong>THE TWELVE MONTHS OF FAIRY TAIL<strong>

**Chapter 2**

Lucy moved to the cracked door and stuck her head out, scanning the room before calling out to the next guy. "Gray, you ready?"

The ice mage stood to his feet, his usual chill expression on his face as he trooped over to her. He got nearly all the way there when he was abruptly shoved to the side.

"I've got better things to do than wait all damn day. I'm going next," Laxus declared, folding his arms across his chest and glaring defiantly down at Lucy.

His attitude instantly set her on edge, her perky mood going right down the drain, and she frowned up at him before pointedly turning away and facing her team-mate. "You're still next Gray, if you want to be."

She could almost feel the angry gaze boring into the back of her head, and if she wasn't mistaken, there was a slight growl as well. Though she felt quite certain that the man rarely experienced such defiance, Lucy didn't care. She hated that kind of inconsideration.

Her dark-haired friend stood back up to his full height, curling his lip up at the lightning mage in disgust. "It's not a big deal, Luce. I can wait. I'm not an impatient ass like some people. Besides," Gray added with a smirk, "It'll be a hell of a lot nicer around here after he's gone."

Lucy giggled at his response, then sent him off with a cheerful wave. She turned, her face immediately folding into a scowl as she addressed the next in line. "Well, come on then Rudeness. Let's get it over with."

Not waiting for his reaction, she spun on her heels and stamped her way back into her impromptu studio. She let herself hope for a single instant that he'd become so annoyed at her attitude that he'd decide to back out, but the idea fell flat as soon as she thought it. There was no way he would do that. Not even Laxus was foolish enough to go against Mira in full Demon mode. And that's exactly what would happen if Laxus didn't contribute like he'd been instructed to.

The Celestial mage sighed and moved to the center of the room. She'd had no time to consider Laxus' pose at all, neither of them actually, and now that Mr. Pushy had decided to act the part of a petulant child, it was going to be even harder to come up with something enticing. At this point, she was so piqued by his behavior, she almost considered making his pictures complete flops, but that's not the kind of woman she was.

She was a Celestial Spirit mage, one that honored her promises, even if they'd come with a frustrating, pig-headed Dragon Slayer with a god complex. She'd just have to put aside her personal feelings for the big jerk and do her job. She'd done it before. She could do it again.

"Oi Blondie!" Laxus shouted at her as he clomped into the room behind her. "What the fuck was that?"

She turned a bland look in his direction. "What?"

If it was possible, his face darkened further, and he narrowed his eyes. "You should be careful how you talk to me."

"Why's that?"

She knew she was treading on dangerous ground. She'd heard the kind of temper Laxus had, but she hadn't grown up in a hostile house with her father without learning a few things. A bully never backed down unless you made him. She stood up tall, ignoring the fact that he towered over her.

"Do you have any idea how easily I could-"

And there it was. Lucy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you could kick my ass six ways to Sunday, but it won't change anything. I'll still say exactly what I want to you. If you don't believe me, ask Gajeel." She looked up to find his eyes slightly wide at her casual reference to the Iron Slayer's attack, but she didn't have time to address it. She had work to do. "Besides, we both know you won't do it, so why don't we cut the bullshit?" She moved to stand just in front of him, her head tipping back so she could fix her gaze on his. "Neither of us is getting out of this. So why don't we just do what we came here to do. Then I can get on with my day, and you can move onto whatever else is more important. Okay?"

Surprisingly, he said nothing. He just continued to stand there eyeing her like he'd never seen her before, and then, with a quiet grunt, he crossed his arms. "Fine."

Internally sighing at his acquiescence, Lucy nodded, then waved a hand to her right. "Great, over there then...please."

His brow lifted at the sincerity of her request, but he didn't understand that she had been raised a lady and certain habits died hard. Regardless, it cost her nothing to observe the most basic of niceties. He was doing what she wanted, so she could afford to exercise a little kindness.

Laxus moved into position and waited for her direction. It surprised her. After his initial fit, she'd expected nothing but demands about his pose, complaints about her slowness, scowls and grunts of annoyance. She hadn't anticipated this quiet stillness. It stumped her, and quite frankly, she didn't know what it meant.

Give her a smarmy, entitled man, and she knew just what to do. She could cut him down in two seconds flat, but a snarky man suddenly turning agreeable...that left her completely in the dark.

"Um...just give me a second to figure out what I want to do."

He nodded silently, and Lucy frowned. What was he up to? This was one of the most uncooperative men she'd ever met, and here he was obeying without question. What the hell was his angle?

Spinning around, she forced her mind past her concern. It didn't matter what he was planning. She only had to get his pictures done, and then she could shoo him out the door. No more problems. She faced him again, her mind shifting into photographer mode, and promptly realized that she had been thinking way too hard.

The solution was simple. This man was defiance personified. It was who he was, and his photographs should show that. They should embody the essence of him, not just the part that was mage, but the man himself.

Her lips curled at that, and she began to snap out her orders, flicking her hand in concert. "Take your shirt off."

Once more, his brow raised, this time in amusement. "You're a bossy little thing."

"Yeah yeah," she said, moving toward him with purpose. "Now, get moving. I don't have all day."

She waited until he'd pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it to the side, before she eyed him critically. She had to admit, to herself if no one else, he was fit. More than fit, to be honest. The man was ripped in ways she hadn't been sure was possible, and try as she might, she couldn't stop herself from mentally tracing every crease of muscle he'd exposed. Snapping her head up, she blinked, then pointed.

"Turn your body sideways with your side facing the camera. Mhmm...now, stretch your arm out and curl your hand back like you're taunting an opponent."

Laxus tossed her a questioning look, and she sighed, then moved into the position she wanted him. "Like this." She turned and held her hand out at him, curling it back as if telling him to 'Bring it'. "We're going for serious here. Like you're just about to kick someone's ass." Giving him another demonstration, she tipped her head down a bit and hardened her jaw, trying to look fierce.

She knew she'd failed when the large man burst out in a laugh. "I don't think that's your look, Blondie. Why don't you keep to the sexy stuff?"

Lucy's eyes widened at his words. Had he just called her sexy? She could feel a blush burning its way onto her cheeks, and she whipped around before it could become fully visible. Letting a man like this know he'd embarrassed her would only lead to more and more of the same.

The blonde woman shuffled back to her camera, then turned around with her professional smile firmly in place. "Alright, let's try it."

Laxus smirked knowingly, but moved himself into the position she'd asked for. His body shifted perfectly into place, just like she'd shown him, and as he lifted his head, he closed his eyes as if trying to center himself. Then suddenly, his eyes flew open, their stormy depths lit with determination.

It was just as she'd seen it in her head, all but one thing. Before she could ask, he activated his magic, wrapping his entire being in bright flickers of lightning. It was stunning, and it took Lucy a moment to remember her job. The button depressed and the shutters came down over and over again. She changed her angle just a bit, then added several more photos to the group until she was satisfied.

A happy smile climbed her face, and she found herself gushing, "That was perfect!"

"Does that surprise you?" he answered, his muscles shifting enticingly as he dropped his arm and turned to walk over to the wall.

She pouted at his arrogant reply, but found the expression dropping a second later as she watched him lean an arm against the wall and slip off his shoes. She licked her lips, unable to ignore the play of the muscles in his back. She'd never seen anything like it. He looked like he'd been sculpted out of solid rock, like something out of a make believe story about demigods.

Startled at the turn her mind had taken, Lucy shook her head, but apparently not quick enough.

"Now, that's a much better look for you," he complimented, his face amused as his hand slipped down to the zipper on his pants. He watched her as he edged the tiny bit of silver down and smiled appreciatively as if he knew her breathing had picked up.

He probably did. Stupid dragon slayer.

And why was teasing her like this? It wasn't her damn fault he was so tempting.

She called a halt to the less than innocent trail her thoughts had taken and forced herself to turn away. "Let's get this one done, so you can head out."

A chuckle sounded behind her, one brimming with masculine pride, and then she felt him move up inches from her back. She spun around and gaped at the sight of him so close in only a snug pair of boxer briefs. Against her will, her eyes instantly scrolled down his body, taking in the way he filled out the simple black underwear. A squeak erupted from her mouth as she stumbled back. "W-What are you doing?"

His lip curled at one corner. "Just giving you a close up."

Swallowing hard, she shook her head, then pointed toward the far wall. "O-Over there please."

It took all she had not to follow his trek, but somehow she tamed the urge to watch the way his ass moved beneath his slight clothing. She would be lying if she said she wasn't tempted, and Lucy was nothing if not honest. But that didn't mean she would be sharing the information any time soon.

"Now what, Blondie?"

His question successfully pulling her back to the job at hand, Lucy looked up, then twirled her finger. "Turn around."

Laxus faced her with a smug grin. "You want another look at my ass?"

Her cheeks bloomed at his insinuation. But it didn't matter that it was true, because he was never going to find out. "No, that's how we're doing the photo." She drew in a deep breath as he followed her instructions, then added, "Okay, step forward just a bit until your body almost touches the wall. Good...now, put your hands on the wall, about shoulder level, then move them out...maybe about a foot."

She watched as he did what she'd said and promptly felt the air in her lungs release as the muscles around his shoulders bunched. Holy shit.

Sounding wildly pleased with himself, Laxus asked, "How's that?"

"G-Good..." She drew herself up, determined not to let this man get to her and grabbed for her camera again. "Alright...um, turn your head...like you're trying to look over your shoulder."

The lightning mage hummed, his voice coming out slightly muffled because of the wall, "And what am I supposed to be trying to look at?"

She studied him for a minute, wondering if he was being serious, then seeing the little grin on his face, Lucy realized he was still trying to mess with her. "You're going to be looking at Mira if you don't quit screwing around," she huffed, trying to cover for her earlier fumble.

Laxus laughed and turned his head, one eye straining to seek her out. Lucy frowned, not liking it, then moved closer to his line of sight and checked her camera angle. "No, not happy. Go with intense." She paused, trying to find the best way to explain what she wanted him to do. "Okay, this is probably going to sound stupid, but... imagine you're trapped in that position, but just out of the corner of your eye, you can see a woman or...or something. Like the one thing you want more than anything else."

She sighed, thinking she'd botched the explanation, then went still as Laxus folded his face into the exact look she'd wanted. Only he was staring straight at her. Her skin prickled at the weight of that gaze, and she felt her heart trip in her chest. Taking a shaky breath, she raised the camera to her face and shifted into the perfect spot to capture everything Laxus was portraying.

By the time his session ended and he was dragging on his clothes once more, Lucy was a jittery mess. She couldn't quite fathom how he'd managed to break through her earlier annoyance and make her so hot. Even now as she walked him to the door, her mind was swamped with pictures of him, and it took all she had not to go full red in the cheeks.

Still, she couldn't quite keep the direction of her thoughts from her face, and sure enough when they reached the doorway, Laxus just had to notice. He grinned down at her, then raised a hand, tracing the color with his finger. "Care to share what you're thinking about?"

A horrified, "No!" shot from her mouth before she could contain her reaction, and then she flushed even more. Why couldn't she have said something clever?

Laxus chuckled, his grin turning distinctively smug as he leaned in and whispered huskily, "It's okay. I've got a great imagination."

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><p><em><strong>AN: So...who else do you think is on this list of men? Toss out a guess or two. I may or may not confirm... lol**_

_**Captain Carnal of the Crack Fiction Liberation Army signing off. **_


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter three actually gave me a fit for a while, but thankfully, my last attempt was a complete success. Gotta love it when the brain decides to cooperate! Yosh!_

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><p><strong><em>Hiro Mashima <em>**_owns Fairy Tail, and unfortunately, he'll never let this happen. Sigh..._

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><p><strong>THE TWELVE MONTHS OF FAIRY TAIL<strong>

**Chapter 3**

Lucy stood there dumbfounded for far too long, her mind rolling with the need to figure out what Laxus had meant when a hand dropped gently onto her shoulder. She jumped, then turned, seeing Gray standing there, his face touched with concern.

"You okay?" he asked, tossing a glance in Laxus' direction before looking back at her. "Did he do something?"

_Do something_, she wanted to ask, l_ike shock the hell out of her and set her insides on fire?_ That would be a big hell yes! Of course, Lucy couldn't say that. That would be inappropriate, not to mention embarrassing as hell. So, shoving a reassuring smile on her face, she shook her head. "No, of course not. Everything's fine."

His gaze was steady, eyeing her critically as if he knew she was keeping secrets. "You sure?"

Lucy's palms itched as she fought the urge to fidget under his scrutiny, but her will won out and she managed to pull off a convincing laugh. "Yes I'm sure. You about done worrying so we can get to work?"

Gray stared at her a moment longer before nodding his head and waving his hand at the room behind her. "I'm ready when you are."

"Great! Let's get this show on the road!"

The dark-haired man moved with her and laughed. "I had no idea you were so excited to get me out of my clothes. Usually, you're telling me to put them back on."

"Oh shut up!" Lucy fired back, her cheeks tinting pink. "That's not what I meant."

"It's interesting," he hummed, ignoring her as he stroked a hand over his chin in contemplation. "I would have thought you'd seen enough of my stripping every day, but I guess not."

The blonde woman smacked a hand onto his arm and laughed. "That's not funny!"

"Hey!" he pouted, grabbing hold of his arm like she'd killed him. "Don't damage the merchandise! Wouldn't want me to look abused in my picture, would you?"

Lucy rolled her eyes with a snort. "Oh please. You're fine, drama queen."

"I hope so..." Gray hummed, then his eyebrows lifted, and he grinned cockily at her. "It would sure be a shame if my photos turned out bad. Mira would be so disappointed."

The blonde froze in place, then whipped her head in his direction, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "I swear to Mavis, if you do that, Gray Fullbuster, I will string you up by your toes and beat you like a rug."

His eyes went wide, and then he cracked a grin. "Beat me like a rug?" He snorted, a laugh bubbling up a moment later. "You're so bad at threatening people."

Once more, Lucy smacked him, her face folding into a pout. "I am not!" She tried to deny his statement, but was cut short as he cracked up again, his laughs growing louder. "I'm not!"

She crossed her arms as he continued to chuckle and turned to stomp over to the camera, her lip drooping petulantly. She wasn't bad at threatening people. She threatened Natsu all the time when he snuck into her bed! _Then again_, her mind argued, _he kept doing it_. Maybe she wasn't as good as she thought.

A pair of chilly arms draped around her, giving her a quick squeeze, and suddenly, Gray's face was dropping down over her shoulder. "Aww...don't be mad, Lucy Loo. You're plenty scary!" he teased.

"Hey!" Lucy squawked indignantly, turning her head to find a wide grin on his face. "I'm not scary!"

"Oh is that not right either?" he asked, still slumped over her shoulder. His expression turned contemplative. "How about moody?"

Lucy threw his arms off, struggling to contain her grin. She could never hold onto her annoyance when he was like this, and he knew it. Still, she fought it, trying to stuff down her amusement so he wouldn't see when she turned around, but he was already grinning like a cheshire cat.

Cocky asshole...

"Oh shut up," she muttered, giving him a shove and ignoring his subsequent laugh. "Get your ass over there." She paused, knowing she shouldn't, knowing it would only encourage him, but she couldn't quite stop herself. "...And I'm not moody."

Gray laughed as he made his way across the room, and turned long enough to toss her a wink. "Of course you're not."

Shaking her head and smothering yet another smile, Lucy moved toward him, going back over the poses she'd already worked out for him. She'd seen his magic in action extensively, and after careful consideration, she'd chosen the two poses best suited for what they were doing today. They were also two of her favorites.

She could feel herself getting excited to start, and with her interest sparking inside her, she grinned and clapped her hands together. "Okay first, let's start with your Ice Bringer."

Gray arched a brow at her enthusiasm, but drew his hands together. "Ice Make: Ice Bringer!"

A cool white mist swirled around him as his magic was activated, and within a moment, there he stood with twin swords in hand. And that wasn't all. Somehow, in the midst of calling forth the massive iced blades, he'd also lost his shirt.

Lucy glanced around, wondering where it had gone and how she'd missed it in the first place. "How do you do that?" she mused, laughing as she caught sight of the simple blue t-shirt hanging from a lamp halfway across the room.

Her friend shrugged coolly. "It's a gift."

Snorting at his explanation. "I'm sure Juvia thinks so."

"Hey!" Gray pouted at that, then pointed at her with the fine tip of his sword. "I'll have you know that most women think so too!"

"If you say so," Lucy returned with an elegant wave of her hand. Secretly, she enjoyed teasing him about Juvia. She knew the man had already told the water woman he wasn't interested, but she couldn't help finding enjoyment in the way the other female constantly stalked him. Well, the enjoyment was more accurately found in Gray's reaction to the stalking - his constant running to escape her loving clutches, his petulant whines at being followed. It was all too much to ignore.

"If I remember correctly, _you_ were _plenty_ eager to get me out of my clothes today!"

Her eyes rolling, Lucy smirked. "You wish. As you also pointed out, I'm usually the one trying to get you to put them back on."

Gray tossed her a smug look. "That's just because you want to touch me."

The blonde shook her head, but couldn't help laughing. "In your dreams, buddy." She waved him over. "Okay, let's get busy before you get even more ridiculous."

Winking, the ice mage followed her lead. "It's okay, Lucy Loo. It can be our little secret."

"Whatever you say, Gray."

Gray laughed, lifting his sword up in victory. "She admits it!"

A grin pulled at her features, one she knew she wouldn't be getting rid of before she booted his crazy ass out. It was always like that when it was the two of them alone - silly, completely devoid of seriousness. In a word, was easy.

"Okay Mr. Delusional," she fired back playfully, unable to keep the mirth from her voice. "Time to get serious."

"Yes ma'am!"

She laughed as he attempted a salute with his sword, then let her grin fall away. "Alright, here's what I want you to do." She moved toward him, using her hands to move him into position as she talked. "Step forward with your left foot. Right, but bend your knees a bit more. Yeah, like that." She reached for his arms, pulling them up and out to the sides. "Good, now lean you upper body forward like you're getting ready to launch an attack at someone."

Shifting back, she studied his stance and nodded. Everything looked right...everything except his expression. He still had that silly grin on his face, the one that said she'd proven his point. "What's all that about?" she asked, waving a finger at his face.

Gray's smile went wide. "I knew you wanted to touch me."

"Oh for Mavis' sake," she muttered, then turned and headed to her table for her camera. "You're nuts."

A chuckle shook his chest as he shot her words back at her. "If you say so."

She rolled her eyes again. "Okay sir, I've got other people to photograph today, so get your act together. Give me some heat."

"Um...you do realize I'm not Natsu, right?"

Lucy had to laugh at his deadpan look. "I didn't mean literal, you dork. I meant the heat of battle. Show me the ass-kicking face to go with that stance."

His mouth curved in complete assurance, and he hunched lower. "Oh I got this."

She nodded at his determination, lifting her camera as his hands tightened on the twin blades and his eyes peered out from beneath furrowed brows. His lips pulled back into a fierce sneer, revealing perfectly straight teeth, and Lucy was stunned to feel a faint fluttering in her chest.

He was...unbelievable. She froze in place at the picture he made, and she wondered why she'd never noticed how incredible he looked like this. She imagined him fresh from a fight, his skin aglow with sweat, and she nearly blushed at how enticing the image became.

What was she doing? This was her friend. She shouldn't be imagining him in such a way, no matter how intriguing it was.

Pushing the wild thoughts aside, she raised the camera to her face and clicked off shot after shot until she was certain she'd captured him perfectly. Dropping her hand, she grinned at him. "That was great!"

"Well, I am awesome," he joked as he shifted out of position and dispersed his swords.

Thankfully, it didn't appear that he'd noticed her momentary lapse, and trying to keep herself occupied, Lucy hurried him over to a wide open section of the room. "Okay, now for the other one."

She turned and found him suddenly clothed in only a simple pair of deep blue boxers. "W-Where did your clothes go?"

Gray looked down in surprise, then lifted his shoulders as if wholly unconcerned. "Eh...who knows. You wanted me like this, though right?"

Lucy pushed her rising blush down, cursing herself for reading more into his question than he'd intended. "Yeah." She kept it simple, knowing anything more could very well reveal her preoccupation.

"Alright, this time, do your prison."

The dark-haired mage shot her a strange look. "I though this one was supposed to look sexy."

"I'm not sure you can handle that."

The minute the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to retrieve them. She couldn't believe she'd gone there with everything inside her already acting so strange. But it was habit, something she would have normally said in response to a statement like that, but in this moment, she could only mentally throttle herself because she should have known what would come next.

Instantly, Gray's mouth dropped open, his jaw slack as he gaped at her, and then everything changed.

"I can't what?" He asked softly, his voice going deeper as his expression transformed into something she'd never seen on him before. "Oh you're going to regret saying that."

Unbidden, Lucy's insides clenched, and she fought not to stutter as she replied, "W-Why's that?"

Her question ignored, Gray shot her a seductive look and pressed his fist to his other palm. "Ice Make: Prison!"

Once more, the chill from his magic permeated the air, and Lucy waited with bated breath for it to dissipate. She had a feeling she was going to get more than she'd bargained for, but she'd had no idea just how right she was.

She'd expected him to make the prison, but Mavis help her, she hadn't expected him to be inside or for him to gaze out at her as if he'd like nothing more than to devour her poor feverish body whole.

He stalked forward, his hands reaching out to grasp the bars as his expression darkened into something far more seductive. His body shifted, arching into the solid beams of ice and somehow managing to look both powerful and restrained at the same time.

Lucy swallowed hard at the scene before. She didn't understand what was happening to her. Never before had Gray elicited the slightest bit of interest in her, and yet, here she was fighting a full-on rush of attraction. It was like a tidal wave of heat slamming into her and spearing out to every inch of her body.

"Lucy..." he called, his voice a deep rasp that had the pit of her stomach wobbling. "You going to take the picture?"

The blonde blinked rapidly, trying to move past the intense sensations swamping her. It took her a moment to gather her wits, but she finally managed to lift the camera to her face. She drew in a shaky breath, trying to force her pulse to calm, and then she snapped the picture. One after another, she clicked them off, adding more than she probably needed, but she was struggling to put Gray back into the box she'd had in before.

She couldn't however keep the camera attached to her eye forever, and she knew Gray would question her if she continued to hide behind the device, so with great trepidation, she dropped her arms.

She watched as the man before her retracted his magic, and then he raised that dark sexy gaze to meet hers. She held her breath as he took two steps in her direction, his movements slow and deliberate, and Lucy wondered just who this man was. How had she not known he could be so damn...provocative?

Gray stopped right in front of her, intensity rolling off of him in waves, and then he lifted his hand. He was going to touch her. Suddenly, Lucy was sure she was dreaming. It was the only thing that made sense because Gray had never been so sexy, and she'd never felt so weak-kneed over his presence.

She trembled as his hand neared her face...and then he grinned.

It took her a moment to realize he'd played her, but when she did, she smacked at his hand and shoved him away. "Oh my God, I can't believe you got me with that!"

A laugh burst from his throat at her reaction, and he shook. "Damn, I had you going good!"

"You are a supreme ass," Lucy muttered, but she couldn't help a giggle at his continued mirth. "Where the hell did you even learn to do that shit?"

A smirk adorning his face, he leaned in. "Wouldn't you like to know..."

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: Oh my Mavis, this wast too much fun. Thoughts? Questions? Nosebleeds? lol Who do you think is next? _**


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